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Friday News Wrap-Up 27 April 2012

Around my side of the planet things are wet, cold and otherwise dreary - perfect weather for snuggling up on the couch and watching my favorite shows and playing my favorite games. Sadly I won't be able to get to my weekend of adding to my couch-dent until I cover the news of the week, so without further more to say...

This is the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 27th of April, 2012.

Might & Magic: Duel of Champions

The world of Might & Magic has seen itself go through more than a few genres in an attempt to give fans a chance to experience its long-running story in new ways. Soon Ubisoft will be tackling the CCG genre with 'Duel of Champions', bringing the title to the PC and iPads in the next few months. Little else can be speculated about the gameplay at this time, so hopefully we'll learn more soon.

As mentioned last week, Acne Play, the developers of Pizza Boy teased their upcoming title My Little Hero with what we can only assume is the game's intro-video. Little else was mentioned about the game, but a trailer centered around the gameplay has been released by publisher NCSoft. Piecing together what looks like Action-RPG and Adventure game elements, the childlike-themed world seems equal parts nightmarish and delightfully innocent. We'll have to see how the game plays once it drops some time during May this year.

Brink developer Splash Damage is no stranger to team-based combat - so when they say they're dipping their toe on the to the App Store to pit players against each other, it's hard not to stop and listen. In-house team WarChest is handling the upcoming turn-based title dubbed RAD Soldiers and the game is looking utterly gorgeous already. Set for a June release it's quite possible the game will be free-to-play, so it will be interesting to see how that's handled in this asynchronous title.

If you've spent any time around a PC or a Mac, it's likely you've also spent time playing (or at least trying to play) Cyan Worlds' puzzle favorite, Myst. Unfortunately, while the game itself remains entertaining, the pre-rendered world is extremely out-dated. Thankfully realMyst solves this problem by rendering the game entirely in 3D, giving you the ability to free-roam and free-look to your heart's content. We'll hopefully see a release of the game later this Spring.

Lastly, in talks with Touch Arcade, developer Amanita Design confirmed that a release of Botanicula is not off the table when it comes to an iOS release. For now the studio is keeping its focus on supporting the Mac and PC versions of the game, but it also considers tablet devices to be perfect for their game, so fingers crossed on this one being more than speculation.

I recently caught up with some of the fine lads who work with the Australian developer Valhalla Studios Bifrost and it struck me as odd that I hadn't checked out their relatively recent arcade puzzle title, Photon. Sporting a Tron-like neon visual style, the gameplay itself takes its cues from the three-match genre. The game's catch is simple - tilting can jiggle around the orbs, allowing you access to longer chains. In the 'Classic' mode players also have to contend with bonus orbs that can be added to and also used to extend your chain; at first the gameplay is slow, but once you're accustomed to making matches you can speed things up by 'forcing' additional drops. The game's second mode, 'Arcade' pits you against a variation of the Classic gameplay, removing power-ups and replacing them with multi-color chain extenders. You have a limited time to earn as many points as possible, and players can purchase single-use power-ups that affect your attempt with 'atoms' earned during play. Of course players can purchase more atoms via IAP, giving a distinct advantage to those who pay to play over those who have to grind their way there. None-the-less, Photon is a simple puzzle distraction that will keep your hands busy if you need a new time waster.

Today's 'Pick of the Week' was a tough one as I was considering putting the choice on hold until next week. However, on reflection I have to give a shout out to Everplay and FireFruitForge's arena-platformer 'Spellsword'. As a gamer it's so easy to fall in to the trap of wanting something with more meat to it - a storyline with characters that develop; mechanics that require more than a casual stab to perfect; and other deeper features. However there's something to be said about a game that elegantly combines its scoring with the gameplay mechanics itself. Heck, there's customization too if you like a particular spell more than another. Better still, if the touch-controls aren't to your liking, then you can use an iCade instead. Spellsword is a neat little package and worth checking out.